How Much to Feed/Day?
| Mare's Body Weight (lbs.) | Mare's Body Weight (kg) | Foals First Liquid Mixture Per Day (gall ... | Foals First Liquid Mixter Per Day (liter ... |
| 250 lbs | 113 kg | 1 gal. | 4.5 liters |
| 500 lbs | 227 kg | 2 gal. | 9.0 liters |
| 1,000 lbs | 454 kg | 4 gal. | 18.0 liters |
| 1,500 lbs | 681 kg | 6 gal. | 27.0 liters |
- Provide high-quality roughage (hay and pasture) free choice.
- Supplement with a high-quality, properly-balanced grain concentrate at weaning, or earlier if more rapid rates of gain are desired.
What do newborn foals eat?
Now, what do foals eat? The primary source of nutrition for a newborn horse is mare milk. If the foal is an orphan or if the mare isn’t producing enough milk, then you should consider buying a milk replacer. 1-3 weeks after birth, the foal will automatically start nibbling on some hay.
Do all foals need Creep feeding?
Not all foals need creep feeding. If you think your foal is faring well on the dam’s milk, forage, and concentrates, then there’s absolutely no need for extra nutrition. Don’t start creep feeding before 90 days of age. It is around this time that the mare’s milk starts to wane.
What do you feed a nursing Mare?
During nursing, proper feeding of the dam ensures her milk production and quality are adequate for the foal. Creep feeding (feeding foals concentrate separate from mares) then provides nutrients as the mare's milk production begins to wane and minimizes the stress of weaning.
Why do foals need milk?
A healthy mare’s milk provides all of the energy and nutrients a foal needs to support rapid, but steady, growth. Foals often nibble at grass or the mare’s rations, and they can even be seen eating the feces of adult horses. Both behaviors are normal.
What is a good feed for foals?
Grass, the most natural of equine foods, should always be available when foals are turned out, and hay should be provided in the stall. Alfalfa (lucerne) or an alfalfa/grass mix will provide both energy and calcium for sound skeletal development. Water and salt should be accessible to mares and foals at all times.
What can I feed my 4 month old foal?
(A 4-month-old weanling should eat enough daily forage to equal between 0.5 and 1 percent of his body weight.) Think of him as a fussy toddler who won't eat his vegetables unless they're really tasty. Turn him out on a productive pasture or entice him with good-quality, palatable hay (fresh and clean, early-cut).
What do you feed a month old foal?
Foals this age will nibble dry feed, so provide Purina® Omolene® #300, Strategy® GX or Ultium® Growth horse feed in small meals throughout the day. They should be eating a minimum of 1 pound of dry feed per month of age per day, and nibbling small amounts of grass or hay in addition to milk replacer.
When should foals start eating grain?
As early as one week of age your foal may start taking some interest in feed by nibbling at hay or grain.
Can foals eat alfalfa?
She says alfalfa is ideal for horses on high planes of nutrition, such as lactating broodmares, growing horses, thin horses, racehorses, performance horses, or young foals that aren't getting enough milk.
Can baby horses eat carrots?
Slice several carrots lengthwise, into “fingers” or take a bag of baby carrots. Carrots should never be fed in chunks because they can lodge in a horse's throat and cause suffocation.
Can a foal drink cow's milk?
After ingestion of colostrum, foals require a continuous supply of milk. Commercially available milk replacers specifically formulated for foals are an option. Alternatively, unmodified goat's milk or 2% cow's milk with 20 g/l of dextrose (not sucrose) added can be used.
What do you feed a 2 week old foal?
Mare's milk replacers and goat's milk have also been used successfully to feed orphan foals. Foals should be fed every 1–2 hours for the first 1–2 days of life, then every 2–4 hours for the next 2 weeks at the rate of 250–500 mL per feeding, using a warmed milk container and an artificial nipple.
What can I feed my 3 month old foal?
To support smooth, steady growth, suckling foals should be offered one pound of a properly-formulated foal feed per month of age per day. For example, a 3-month-old would ideally be eating about three pounds of feed per day, in addition to milk and free choice hay or pasture.
Can foals eat hay?
As the foal's dietary requirements shift from milk to feed and forage, your role in providing the proper nutrition gains in importance. Here are some guidelines to help you meet the young horse's needs: 1. Provide high-quality roughage (hay and pasture) free choice.
What is the best mare and foal feed?
Purina® Omolene® #200, Strategy® GX or Ultium® Growth horse feed would be good choices, or Purina® Enrich Plus® Ration Balancing horse feed may be an option for mares that are easy keepers. During the tenth month of gestation the greatest amount of mineral retention occurs in the unborn foal.
What do you feed a newly weaned foal?
If a foal is 4 months of age, it should be consuming at least 4 pounds of feed per day. If a foal is 6 months of age, it should be consuming at least 6 pounds of feed per day. Appropriate feeds will be 14-16% protein with controlled starch and sugar along with amino acid, mineral and vitamin fortification.
What is the importance of feeding a foal?
A foal’s diet is critical to development, disease prevention, and future performance. Proper nutrition throughout the foal's first year of life can impact his musculoskeletal health and his future performance as an athlete. The growing foal passes through three important nutritional phases: nursing, creep feeding, and weaning.
What are the phases of a foal's growth?
The growing foal passes through three important nutritional phases: nursing, creep feeding, and weaning. L. intracellularis is a bacterium that causes proliferative enteropathies ...
What is the purpose of a creep feeding dam?
Creep feeding (feeding foals concentrate separate from mares) then provides nutrients as the mare's milk production begins to wane and minimizes the stress of weaning.
What is intracellularis in horses?
L. intracellularis is a bacterium that causes proliferative enteropathies (a spreading disease of the intestines) in a variety of species—including horses. In horses. A foal’s diet is critical to development, disease prevention, and future performance. Proper nutrition throughout the foal's first year of life can impact his musculoskeletal health ...
How much foal feed should a 3-month-old eat?
For example, a 3-month-old would ideally be eating about three pounds of feed per day, in addition to milk and free choice hay or pasture.
What is needed for a horse to grow?
Young, growing horses have different requirements for protein, vitamins and minerals than adult horses. A proper balance of high-quality proteins, calories, calcium and phosphorus is needed for correct muscle, bone and tendon development.
How much should a horse's weight be by 6 months?
As a general rule, foals should reach approximately 50 percent of their mature weight and 80 percent of their mature height by six months old. Plotting your weanling horse’s height and weight over time should show a smooth, steady growth curve with no obvious peaks or valleys.
How much does a horse grow before weaning?
Prior to weaning, the foal is growing at a rapid rate of about 2-2.5 pounds per day. This growth gradually slows after the foal becomes a weanling horse—to about one pound per day as they approach 12 months of age.
When do horses start showing interest in feeds?
Foals will start to show interest in feeds very early on and, by around two months of age, their mother’s milk will no longer supply all the nutrients needed for optimum growth.
Does weaning affect forage intake?
The ability of the weanling’s digestive system to digest forages also increases post-weaning, as does their daily forage intake. Therefore, the proportion of the diet as feed may not continue to increase, and may actually decrease, if forage quality is excellent.
Can a weanling horse eat dry feed?
A weanling horse already accustomed to eating an adequate amount of dry feed will transition to life without mom much easier and will be ready to maintain nutrient intake at a level that can sustain optimum growth.
How long do foals eat?
What Foals Eat When: The First Days, Weeks, Months. “The foal appears to make feeding the second priority after breathing,” is a common quote among veterinarians and equine nutritionists. Indeed, a foal is driven to stand within an hour of birth and nurse within two hours. “A foal’s most important meal is that first milk, colostrum, ...
How much milk does a mare need?
The mare’s colostrum will be replaced by milk within about 24–36 hours. Generally, a foal weighing 110 lb (50 kg) will consume approximately 15 liters of milk daily.
What is a healthy mare's milk?
A healthy mare’s milk provides all of the energy and nutrients a foal needs to support rapid, but steady, growth. Foals often nibble at grass or the mare’s rations, and they can even be seen eating the feces of adult horses. Both behaviors are normal.
How long does it take for a foal to nurse?
Indeed, a foal is driven to stand within an hour of birth and nurse within two hours.
Do foals eat hay?
Foals learn to eat hay and concentrates. If foals are on pasture, it might take them longer than if they spend part of every day in a stall observing the dam. This might involve creep feeding.
Can foals be weaned?
Many foals are weaned during this period, although timing of weaning is variable. The large intestines of foals have been developing over the past few months and now contain the appropriate microorganisms needed to ferment forage. Weaning can be stressful.
How much milk should I feed my foal?
Weigh the foal daily and adjust the daily feeding volume respectively as the foal grows. You can gradually increase the milk volume you feed and decrease how often you feed. The average foal should gain about 2 pounds daily.
How much should a foal gain?
The average foal should gain about 2 pounds daily. If the foal doesn’t gain weight, increase the volume of feed or how often you feed. A general rule for feeding healthy foals is to feed every 2 hours during the day and every 3 hours through the night for the first two weeks.
How long does it take for a foal to absorb colostrum?
The foals gut best absorbs the colostrum within 6 to 12 hours after birth. By 18 to 24 hours of age, it absorbs much less. In general, a 100-pound foal needs 2 to 3 quarts of colostrum within 6 to 8 hours of age.
How long does it take for a mare to absorb milk?
Colostrum is the first milk a mare produces. It’s rich in antibodies that protect the foal from infection until their immune system fully develops. Foals don’t receive any antibodies prior to birth and thus, depend on colostrum. The foals gut best absorbs the colostrum within 6 to 12 hours after birth. By 18 to 24 hours of age, it absorbs much less.
What is the best alternative to mare milk?
The best alternative to colostrum is antibodies from equine plasma, which is given by your veterinarian. The best alternative to mare’s milk is an equine milk replacer.
How much dextrose should I add to cow's milk?
There are a couple ways to add dextrose to cow’s milk. You can add 40 milliliters of 50 percent dextrose solution to each quart of milk. You can add a 2-ounce package of jam/jelly pectin to every 3 quarts of milk.
Is goat milk better than mare milk?
Goat's milk is the second best alternative to mare's milk. The fat content of goat milk is higher than mare’s milk but is easier for the foal to digest than cow’s milk. There are disadvantages to goat’s milk including: Comes in a small packaged volume. It’s costly.
How old do you have to be to feed a foal?
Let the foal eat as much of the Starter & Creep pellet it wants, until the foal is four months old or their Body Condition Score (BCS) becomes a 6. (On a 1 to 9 Scale) After 4 months of age, it is not necessary to feed milk to a weanling.
Why give a foal milk?
Allowing the foal to drink a little at a time, as often as it wants, will result in fewer digestive upsets, improved milk digestibility, optimal weight gain and improved overall foal health.
How old do you have to be to give a foal a pellet?
If the foal is over 3 weeks old when orphaned, provide just the Foals First ® - Starter and Creep Pellets free choice. At this age their molars are in and they can easily chew and swallow the milk based pellets. Provide the Foals First ® - Starter and Creep Pellets free choice up to 4 months of age.
How much milk does a mare produce?
The average mare will produce 3.0%-3.5% of her body weight in milk per day. This means a 1,000 lb. (454 Kg.) mare will produce 30 to 35 pounds (14 to 16 Kg) or about 4 gallons (18 liters) of milk per day. Use the following chart to determine the size of the sire and dam, then the amount of milk replacer to feed the foal each day:
How to stop a foal from drinking milk?
After they start to suck and drink, slowly remove your finger from the foal’s mouth. If he stops drinking, repeat the above steps until he is drinking by himself. Always bring the milk up to the foal; do not force the foal’s head down into a bucket. The first day, warm the liquid milk replacer to encourage consumption.
How to teach a foal to drink?
Teach your foal to drink by placing your finger in their mouths to stimulate the suckle reflex. While they are sucking, raise the small bowl containing the liquid milk replacer solution up to their muzzle. After they start to suck and drink, slowly remove your finger from the foal’s mouth.
How long does a mare have to secrete colostrum?
After foaling, the mare secretes colostrum for 24 to 48 hours. Foals will absorb colostrum for 12 to 24 hours after birth, or until an adequate amount of whole protein antibodies are absorbed through the small intestine.
DECISION ONE
Orphaned or rejected foals can be raised on a leased Nurse Mare or on the Foals First ® Milk Replacer
Pro and Con in Using a Leased Nurse Mare
You can turn a nurse mare with grafted foal out with the other mares and foals in the pasture.
Pro and Con Statements for Milk Replacers
Foals First ® Milk Replacer Powder including shipping currently costs approximately $90/22lb. bucket, with an average of 11 buckets needed from birth to weaning time at 2 months of age
What to do if your foal drinks goat milk?
If digestive upsets do occur when your foal drinks goat’s milk, try the same doctoring you would use on cow’s milk—adding lime water and pectin. Impaction can happen when feeding goat’s milk, so some breeders recommend adding 30 ml of mineral oil daily to the liquid.
What to do if your foal isn't doing well?
If your foal isn’t doing well, consider trying a different brand of milk replacer, offering goat’s milk, or mixing the two in different concentrations. Each time you make a change, give it a few days before you decide to try something else. Your foal might well adapt to the offering.
What is an orphan foal?
Orphan foals raised with a correct balance of nutrients and monitored for growth, food consumption, and weight gain can be every bit as tall, strong, and athletic as foals raised by their dams. Every breeder dreads finding himself or herself with an orphan foal—a baby left alone when his dam dies of foaling complications or from a later, ...
How long can you milk a foal?
You can milk colostrum every two hours from a mare which has had a stillborn foal, until six to 12 hours after foaling. A mare which is supporting a foal usually can afford to donate about 250 ml (a half pint), after her foal nurses.
How long does it take for a foal to absorb colostrum?
A foal can only absorb and utilize colostrum effectively in the first 12 hours of his life, so time is of the essence.
Why do farms hand raise orphan foals?
Because nurse mares are relatively scarce, and can be expensive to lease, a great many farms hand-raise their orphan foals. While this is a valid approach, it often can result in a foal which is more socialized toward humans than to horses. But as he grows, his lack of equine social skills can make him dangerous.
Why are foals considered orphans?
Even a foal which can’t derive enough nourishment from nursing his dam (as when she is a poor milk producer), or one prematurely separated from her, can be considered an orphan, because for all intents and purposes, he’s going to depend on you for all of his meals. Orphans tend to be bad news for breeders for two reasons ...
